Sure, it’s quite impressive to hold a plank for over a minute. And it’s breathtaking to hold a Pilates boat pose without breaking a sweat. But these intense ab moves might seem impossible to most people. These moves are difficult because they require a certain degree of ab strength. You need to already have a strong core in order to perform them properly. An ab workout with a full rollup is pointless if you can’t even complete a crunch. That is where these beginner ab exercises come in.

In order to start building core strength, you need to start easy and slowly work up to more difficult moves. Complete these beginner ab exercises 2 to 3 times per week until you think you’ve developed enough muscle to try harder moves. It’ll help you strengthen lower abs, upper abs, and obliques, all the main muscle groups you need to move on to harder, more impressive moves.